Domestic Abuse and Immigration Rights in the UK

Safety note: if the person hurting you can access or monitor your phone or computer, read this on a device they cannot reach, such as a trusted friend's phone or a work or library computer. Private browsing will not protect you on a monitored device, and clearing your whole browsing history can itself raise suspicion.

If you are being abused at home, the law in the UK is on your side, and that is true even if your visa depends on the person hurting you.

Domestic abuse is far more common than most people think. The Office for National Statistics estimates that around 4.7 million people aged 16 and over, about 9.6% of adults in England and Wales, experienced domestic abuse in the year to March 2026 (source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales bulletin). Behind every one of those numbers is a person who often feels alone, ashamed or trapped.

For migrants, the fear is often doubled. Many people say: "If I leave, I will lose my visa." "My partner said they will get me deported." "I have no money, no family here and nowhere to go." This article looks at domestic abuse from three angles: the emotional side, the legal side and the immigration side. Our aim is simple: to show you that you have more options than your abuser wants you to believe.

What counts as domestic abuse?

Domestic abuse is not only hitting. Under section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, it is abusive behaviour by someone you are "personally connected" to, such as a husband, wife, partner, ex-partner or family member. It can be a single incident or a pattern of behaviour. The Act recognises:

• Physical or sexual abuse: hitting, pushing, strangling, forced sex
• Violent or threatening behaviour: threats to hurt you, your children or your family
• Controlling or coercive behaviour: monitoring your phone, cutting you off from friends, deciding where you go and what you wear
• Economic abuse: taking your wages, refusing you money for food, running up debts in your name
• Psychological or emotional abuse: constant insults, humiliation, making you doubt your own memory

Children who see, hear or experience the effects of abuse are also recognised as victims in their own right.

There is one more form that migrants face every day: immigration-related abuse. This includes hiding your passport or travel documents, refusing to help with your visa extension, controlling your UKVI account, or threatening to call the Home Office to have you removed. The Home Office's own guidance accepts this as a form of abuse. If your partner uses your visa as a weapon, that is abuse.

Why is it so hard to leave?

People who have never lived with abuse often ask: "Why don't you just leave?" The honest answer is that leaving is rarely simple, and it is never a sign of weakness to stay while you plan.

Abuse can develop gradually. It often starts with love, gifts and promises, then turns into small criticisms, then control, then fear. By the time the abuse becomes apparent, the victim's confidence, money and support network may already be gone. Many survivors describe feeling as if they are "walking on eggshells" every day.

For migrant victims, there are extra layers of pressure:

• Family and community honour: fear of bringing shame on the family, or being blamed for the marriage breaking down
• Isolation: no relatives in the UK, limited English, not knowing how the system works
• Children: fear of losing the children, or the abuser taking them abroad
• Fear of authority: belief that the police or Home Office will side with the British or settled partner
• Money: no access to benefits, no savings, no tenancy in your own name

If any of this feels familiar, please hear this: what is happening is not your fault, and you do not have to have everything figured out before you ask for help. Speaking to someone confidentially is a first step, not a commitment.

The legal side: the law can protect you

Emotion explains why leaving is hard. The law gives you practical tools to make leaving safer. These protections apply to everyone in England and Wales, whatever their immigration status. The court orders described below are those available in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own equivalent protections, and the immigration routes in the next section apply across the whole of the UK.

• Emergency help. Many forms of domestic abuse are criminal offences. In an emergency, dial 999. If you cannot speak, dial 999 from a mobile, stay on the line and press 55 when prompted (the Silent Solution). Police can arrest the abuser and can also apply for a protective notice or order on your behalf.
• Non-molestation order. Under section 42 of the Family Law Act 1996, the Family Court can order your abuser not to use or threaten violence, harass, contact or come near you. Breaking the order is a criminal offence. In urgent cases the court can make the order the same day, without the abuser being told first. There is no court fee for this application.
• Occupation order. Under sections 33 to 38 of the same Act, the court can decide who lives in the family home, and can order the abuser to leave or stay away from the area around it.
• Legal aid. Victims of domestic abuse can often get legal aid for family cases, including injunctions, child arrangements and divorce, if they can show evidence of abuse and pass the means and merits tests. Do not assume you cannot afford a solicitor.
• Clare's Law. Under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, you can ask the police whether your partner has a history of abuse.
• Keep evidence. Where it is safe to do so, save messages, voice notes, photographs of injuries, medical records, crime reference numbers and letters from support services. Store copies somewhere your abuser cannot reach, such as a trusted friend's phone or a new email account. This evidence matters in the Family Court and, as the next section explains, in your immigration application.

The immigration side: "Will I lose my visa if I leave?"

This is the question we are asked most often. Leaving an abusive relationship does not necessarily mean you must leave the UK. However, separation can affect permission based on that relationship, so get immigration advice promptly about your options and about notifying the Home Office. UK immigration law has two specific protections for migrant victims of domestic abuse.

1. The Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC)

The MVDAC (previously called the DDV Concession) gives eligible victims three months of temporary permission to stay, independent of the abuser. During those three months you can work and access public funds, including benefits and housing support, so you can get to a refuge or safe accommodation. It gives you breathing space to apply for settlement or to plan your next steps.

It is open to people whose last permission was as:

• the partner (on a family visa) of a British citizen, a settled person or an EEA national with pre-settled status
• a spouse, civil partner or durable partner who holds their own pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• the partner of a refugee
• the partner of a member of HM Forces
• a partner (including a fiancé(e)) under the Ukraine Scheme
• the dependent partner of someone on a work, study or Graduate route

Dependent children can be included, including those aged 18 or over who are not living independently. Since 8 October 2026, adult children who last held permission as a child on one of these routes can apply in their own right.

The concession does not cover fiancé(e)s on the family or HM Forces routes, dependants on the Hong Kong BN(O) route, visitors or people who entered illegally. You can still apply if your partner visa has already expired.

Being granted the MVDAC does not on its own mean you qualify for settlement: partners on work, study or Graduate routes usually need a different onward route.

Take advice before you apply. A grant under the MVDAC replaces the visa you currently hold with three months' permission, and the old visa cannot be reinstated (pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme is the exception and is kept). This matters most if you are a dependant on a work, study or Graduate route with time still to run.

2. Settlement as a victim of domestic abuse (Appendix VDA)

Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse lets eligible victims apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in their own right, on form SET(DV). You must show that your relationship has permanently broken down because of domestic abuse. You do not need your partner's support, and you do not need to complete the usual five-year partner route first.

This route is mainly for people whose last permission was:

• as a spouse, civil partner or unmarried partner of a British citizen, a settled person or an EEA national with pre-settled status (Appendix FM or Part 8), but not as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner
• as a spouse, civil partner or durable partner holding their own pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• as the partner of a refugee or of a member of HM Forces
• under the MVDAC, where they were previously in one of the categories above

Two important points to know:

1. Adult children (from 8 October 2026). Following Statement of Changes HC 584, certain adult dependent children can now apply for settlement in their own right where their relationship with a parent or their parent's partner has permanently broken down because of domestic abuse, provided they last held permission in a qualifying category.
2. Abandoned abroad. Eligible victims who had previously been physically present in the UK and were subsequently abandoned overseas (sometimes called transnational marriage abandonment) can apply from outside the UK to return and settle. That application is made on the online "Return to the UK" form, not on form SET(DV), which is for applications made inside the UK.

The application fee is £3,226 per person, but you do not have to pay if you can show that you have no home and cannot afford one, that you cannot afford essentials such as food or heating, or that you have a very low income and paying the fee would harm your child's wellbeing.

Evidence: what does the Home Office look for?

Caseworkers look at the evidence as a whole, so no single document is compulsory. Useful evidence includes a non-molestation or occupation order, a criminal conviction or caution, police reports and crime reference numbers, a referral to a MARAC (a local multi-agency meeting about high-risk cases), letters from a refuge, an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) or a support worker, GP or hospital records, and a detailed personal statement. You can succeed even if the police never charged your abuser.

What if you do not fit these routes?

You still have options. Depending on your situation, these could include a human rights application based on family or private life (especially if you have children in the UK), switching to your own visa, a retained right of residence under the EU Settlement Scheme, or an asylum claim. Every case is different, so get advice before your current visa expires.

If you are refused

There is usually no full appeal against a refusal under Appendix VDA, but you can apply for administrative review. The deadline is 14 days if you applied in the UK, 7 days if you were detained when you received the decision, and 28 days if you applied from overseas. A fresh application with stronger evidence, or a human rights claim, is sometimes the better route, but making any new application withdraws a pending administrative review, so speak to a regulated adviser quickly before you choose.

Practical steps if you are a migrant experiencing abuse

• Get safe first. If you are in danger, call 999. Your immigration status does not stop you calling the police.
• Talk to a specialist service. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and open 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. Men can call the Men's Advice Line on 0808 8010 327. Specialist organisations such as Southall Black Sisters and Karma Nirvana support victims facing honour-based abuse, forced marriage or immigration-related abuse.
• Protect your documents. Take photos of your passport, eVisa details or share code, marriage certificate and children's documents. If someone else can access or control your UKVI account, contact UKVI for help securing it, using a safe device where possible.
• Collect evidence quietly. Where it is safe to do so, keep a dated diary and save messages and records somewhere safe.
• Get immigration advice early. The timing of an MVDAC or SET(DV) application matters, especially if your visa is close to expiring or your partner has told the Home Office the relationship has ended.
• Ask about legal aid. You may qualify for free advice for both the family and immigration sides of your case, subject to a means and merits test.

Your safety comes before your status

Abuse thrives on silence and on myths, and one of the most powerful myths is "without me, you have no visa". For many migrants that is simply not true. The law gives you protection from the abuser, and the Immigration Rules give many victims a way to stay in the UK independently.

You deserve to live without fear. Reaching out is not betrayal, and it is not the end of your future here. It may be the start of it.

This article reflects the law as at 13 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice on your individual circumstances. To speak to our team in confidence, contact Morgan Hill Solicitors on 0203 5000 699, by email at info@MorganHillSolicitors.com or through www.MorganHillSolicitors.com.